What It Is: The latest and most production-ready version of the upcoming NSX supercar spotted yet. It will be sold as a Honda in most of the world and peddled here as an Acura. We’ve seen a plethora of NSX concepts since the first show property appeared back in 2012, each sporting different colors, badging, grilles, and more over the following months. But we hadn’t seen any of the most recent design out testing until it burst onto the vaunted Nürburgring covered in form-fitting camo wrap. [Update: Burst it did—into flames. Just a day after publishing this story, the prototype burned to the ground.]

The car’s shape appears to still be evolving somewhat, with more sculpting in the doors and a side intake that stretches farther down. Many of the details are clearly placeholders: The wheels don’t match, the outside mirrors don’t fit, the HID headlamps likely will give way to Acura’s latest “jewel” LED treatment, and the location of the air intakes in the bumper could indicate a reshaping of the brand’s “power plenum” grille. Unseen until now are this car’s hood vents, which weren’t there on the prototype that lapped Mid-Ohio last year.

We also expect the Porsche 918–like interior design, previewed last year, to highlight ergonomic ease of use. “What we learned [from studying the previous NSX] was the way the vehicle fits the human being—that’s NSX,” project leader Ted Klaus told us in an interview we conducted last year.

Why It Matters: Why does it matter? Duh­—the NSX is coming back. (Hooray!) More important for its maker, however, is that Acura needs a flagship. Desperately. And sexy supercars have a way of injecting some excitement into staid brands. The NSX also is likely to be Acura’s first-ever vehicle to carry a six-figure MSRP, a symbolically significant threshold for luxury-brand credibility.

The NSX will be a technological tour de force, with a twin-turbo V-6 and three electric motors and a dual-clutch automatic gearbox among its tricks. Finally, whereas the first-gen NSX was built in Japan, the new one will be built in Ohio, which is also a big deal, especially for the 100 or so folks who will be employed to execute the task.

Platform: The 2016 NSX’s mid-engine platform is all-new and unique to the car, accommodating a longitudinally mounted V-6 engine behind the passengers and an electric propulsion system up front.

Powertrain: The NSX will be motivated by a hybrid powertrain featuring a 90-degree V-6 engine with two turbos. It will come mated to a dual-clutch automatic transmission with an integrated electric motor, with two additional electric motors each assigned to a front wheel. All of the above will be connected via Acura’s innovative Sport Hybrid SH-AWD system; a version of the RLX sedan uses similar technology, only in reverse, with the electric motors driving the rear wheels. We have been told, however, that the NSX will not simply be flipping the system around and will use a plethora of its own parts. Total system output is expected to exceed 500 horsepower. We’ve reported before that the NSX’s benchmarks include the Ferrari 458 Italia, Audi R8, and the Porsche 911, so their makers should consider themselves on notice.

The Best and Others to Consider

The Editors' Rating summarizes a vehicle's overall degree of excellence and is determined by our editors, who evaluate hundreds of vehicles every year and consider numerous factors both objective and subjective.

Price Starting at

$191,100

Compare

There are three members of the 570 family, and all are set to kick sand in the faces of lesser cars.

The Editors' Rating summarizes a vehicle's overall degree of excellence and is determined by our editors, who evaluate hundreds of vehicles every year and consider numerous factors both objective and subjective.

Price Starting at

$92,150

Compare

The 911 debuted in the 1960s and stays true to its roots as the quintessential sports car.

The Editors' Rating summarizes a vehicle's overall degree of excellence and is determined by our editors, who evaluate hundreds of vehicles every year and consider numerous factors both objective and subjective.

Price Starting at

$162,850

Compare

For decades, the 911 Turbo has been the stuff of legends, and it remains so today.